Doppelgänger
by Agent Striker
Summary: A wildfire raging just outside of LA has crews from all over California working to keep the blaze from reaching the city. Station 51 is right on the front lines & that's where they meet an all-female Station 15.Right from the start, something feels odd. As the paramedics get caught up in rescues amidst the fire, could it be that 51 has finally met their match…so to speak?
1. Chapter 1

**Doppelgänger:****noun- ****_legend- _a ghostly duplicate of a person.**

***Note: we're gonna look at the idea of ****Dopplegänger minus the ghost part...**

******Full Summary:**

A wildfire raging just outside of Los Angeles has crews from all over California working to keep the blaze from reaching the city. Station 51 is right on the front lines and that's where they meet an all-female Station 15 of Kings County. Right from the start, something feels odd...almost like seeing double. Meanwhile, it's a zoo at Rampart when the circus has come to town...or to be more accurate, the hospital's waiting room. As the paramedics and firefighters alike get caught up in rescues amidst the fire, could it be that 51 has finally met their match…so to speak?

**So, after a hiatus, I HAVE RETURNED. Not that any of you would have noticed I was gone...this is my first adventure of writing an EMERGENCY! fanfic. I just wanted to dispel any rumors that I'd been murdered by Vigilante FanFicers (which is a story for another day). But I digress; since this is my first time, keep that in mind when I screw up terminology...or the layout of Los Angeles (it's a big city) or anything else I could possibly mess up (there will be grammatical errors. You have been warned). If you aren't afraid yet, without any further ado...**

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**Chapter****1:**

The air was thick and hot without a breeze in sight; it was hard to distinguish between the heat from the fire and the heat of the late afternoon sun. Fireman Paramedic John Gage paused to wipe a bead of sweat from his forehead. The flickering of the flames were barely discernible four miles away across the ridge. For nearly a week, crews had been working tirelessly in the San Gabriel Mountains to get the fire under control before it swept down and into the Northern part of Los Angeles. So far, containment was under the ten percent mark. Fresh men had been brought in from the surrounding counties, even from as far as Kings County, which was over three hours away.

John and his partner, Roy DeSoto, were stationed just outside of the Base Camp #2, on the south side of the fire, close to the Los Angeles city limits. It had been a long day, men trickling in with various small injuries: smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion, cuts, scrapes, and bruises. They hadn't been needed out in the field since their shift had started and it was beginning to get a little bit monotonous.

It had been surprisingly quiet for the last half an hour, and the two paramedics stood in the wings, listening the base commander and the updates coming in from the field.

"_-34, come in from the south-"_

_"Tractor 3, that's a 10-4-"_

_"Copter 9, proceed to 45's location-"_

_"-Truck 77, refueling, out fifteen minutes-"_

Base Commander Simmons glanced over at the paramedics. "It's gonna be a long one, boys. We gotta smoke inhalation coming in along with some sort of laceration. They should be here momentarily."

Without waiting for a reply, the man turned back to his radio and his aides, effectively dismissing Gage and DeSoto. The two headed back to their station where the equipment was set up. Another smoke inhalation. How exciting. The camp was quiet with most of the firemen who worked the night shifts sleeping, but soon the other trucks would be coming back for chow. The crunch of gravel on the road alerted the men to an arriving truck, bearing the first shift of hungry men and from the looks of it, the smoke inhalation and laceration.

The truck rolled to a stop to let the two men out. One short, slight guy hopped out, careful of his left hand, and then turned to help his colleague, who was trying to cough up a lung, down from the truck. Their helmets both read KINGS COUNTY 15 and their faces were almost completely black from the smoke and soot.

"How you doin'?" Johnny asked, reaching out to help the smoke inhalation to a seat in the shade.

He just shook his head, hacking and wheezing too hard to get any words out. Johnny nodded sympathetically and reached for the oxygen mask, "Sorry, don't try to talk. Got a little close to the fire, huh? I'm just gonna take your helmet off here-"

As he was talking, John gently pulled off the helmet, which revealed a knot of hair that was still remarkably bright past the soot and sweat. He took another look at his patient, "Hey, you're a girl!"

"Really?-" the woman gasped, still managing to sound caustic, reaching out to snatch the mask from the slightly surprised paramedic and pressing it against her mouth, taking deep, hungry breaths.

John turned to look at his partner who sat a few feet away, talking with _another _woman who had short brown hair swept back from her forehead, "Hey, you're a girl- woman, too!"

She rolled her brown eyes, but smiled rather serenely, "Observant."

She glanced back at Roy with the little half smile on her face. Roy looked at his partner's confused countenance; he and the woman must have taken a little pity on the other paramedic, "They're from King County, one of their all-women stations."

The woman, Gage noticed, was fairly pretty once she mopped some of the soot from her face. Round face, bright, intelligent eyes under a quirked, slightly disbelieving eyebrow, "You have heard of women firefighters before, right?"

Shaking himself, John sat up a little straighter, "Oh yeah, I just wasn't expecting to see one out here."

The red head pulled off her mask and fairly snarled, "Where else are we gonna be? Makin' chow?"

A fit of coughing compelled her to put the mask back on, but her partner spoke to her, "Don't be such a witch," she directed her attention back to Johnny as Roy pulled out some gauze and antiseptic from the medicine box, "Sorry about that, she tends to turn into a raging feminist when she hasn't eaten…or as a matter of fact, when she _has _eaten. Her bark's a lot worse than her bite."

Poor John was still trying to come up with an intelligent answer when his partner stepped in, "Well, he tends to put both feet in his mouth on a regular basis. I'm Roy DeSoto and that's John Gage, my tactless partner."

"Julie Chrysler. I'd shake your hand," she shrugged and motioned to the long, gagged gash down her palm, "but things might get messy. That's my partner Liz Abel over there sucking up all the oxygen."

Abel frowned through her mask, still angry about Johnny's remarks no doubt. Once she could breathe a little better, she pulled the mask off and used the sleeve of her turnout coat to wipe off some of the soot, revealing a _very _pretty face. A sharp upturned nose with a smattering of freckles, eyes, that although were bloodshot, hinted at emerald green, full lips, and of course that bright red hair.

"Seriously, what are you lookin' at?" she demanded, giving both paramedics a hard stare "is there a problem here?"

"Really Lizzie, stop. They're not doing anything wrong," Chrysler chastised gently.

Abel was glaring at Johnny from behind her mask again. She pulled it off and gave a cough that barely disguised, "Bull."

Chrysler rolled her eyes and ignored Abel as Roy turned to look at her hand, "What'd you get into here?"

"Barbed wire. Trying to get Liz out and it ripped right through my gloves. Pity, they were still pretty new," Chrysler replied, holding up what was left of her glove.

"Why were you in barbed wire?" Johnny dared to ask the glowering Abel.

Pulling off her mask, she sighed, which might have been more dramatic if a heavy cough hadn't interrupted her. Once she had taken a few more gulps of air, she directed her answer at Roy rather than Johnny, "We were up at the front, on the east side, the air up there's all smoke, and I tripped over a rock or somethin' and ended up in somebody's fencing."

"I'm always following her around and getting her out of situations like this. And she doesn't get a scratch," Chrysler muttered, winching as Roy gently scrubbed at the cut on her hand.

"My air mask didn't make out so well," Abel said, holding up the aforementioned mask, "damned barbed wire cut right through the hose. That's why all I was gettin' was smoke."

"How _is_ your breathing feelin' now, by the way?" Johnny interjected.

Abel's head snapped back around, but the look on her face wasn't quite as vicious as it had been, "Better actually. Thanks," she added, almost grudgingly.

Across the way, Roy was talking in low tones with Chrysler, "Not as bad as it looked at first. I don't think you'll need stitches, but keep it as clean as you can and see a doctor at the first sign of infection."

Julie Chrysler nodded, patting her freshly wrapped hand, "Alright, I think I can accomplish that…Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Ask away," Roy said, looking back at the other firefighter with a half-smile.

"Have you been a paramedic long?"

Roy shrugged, "I've been in the program since it started up, a few years back."

Chrysler nodded, brushing her sweaty hair back from her forehead, "Is it hard?"

Roy sat back on his heels, "Most days it's like being a firema- firefighter. They've both got their bad days, but I know the work I do makes a difference."

Soot on one cheek, Chrysler nodded wordlessly, watching Johnny and her partner. She looked dead tired, Roy decided. They were all dead tired at this point. He cleared his throat and brought her attention back to him, "You been in the department long?"

"A few years…ever since I got drummed out of the Police Academy for insubordination."

"Insubordination?" Roy asked disbelievingly. From his brief conversations with both women, he wouldn't have picked Chrysler as the rebel.

She just shrugged, "Yeah, it's kinda a long story."

Roy didn't press the issue any further, just smiled understandingly. A few feet away, Johnny seemed to being having a conversation with Liz Abel that wasn't wholly hostile.

Gage had turned his 'charm' on full-force, "I'm real sorry if said anything that offended you," he said with a grin, pushing his too-long hair back out of his face.

The redhead was scowling, a seemingly constant state with her, "I wasn't offended, I was pissed. Am pissed. You really don't get it, do you?"

For the second time in just about as many minutes, John had somehow landed his foot in his mouth, but he didn't really understand why this time. He shrugged helplessly at the pretty firefighter.

"Don't you get tired of people askin' for a _real _doctor?"

Johnny frowned, "Yeah-"

"Well, it's kinda the same thing for us. We get sick and tired of 'you're a _firefighter?!' _ I'm aware of the fact that I'm a chick. I also know me and the rest of my crew are damned good at our jobs."

Johnny wasn't faking his understanding or sincerity now, "When you put it that way…"

He was rewarded with the first non-snarl, non-sarcastic smile of the afternoon; a dimpled, light-up-her-whole-face number that was kind of gorgeous. Johnny's mouth might have been hanging open, but Abel didn't notice it. Glancing over her shoulder where smoke and fire were still visible she changed the subject, "Heard they lost half a dozen summer houses up in the mountains. Least there wasn't anybody home. If the winds don't change soon, we'll be losing a lot more than that."

"Yeah." John was still trying to get his act together but cracked a grin, "I did hear somethin' about rain tomorrow. Or heavy thunderstorms," his smile faded as he admitted, "which could be good or bad."

Liz Abel shot Johnny a look, then rolled her green eyes; glancing over at her partner as well as his. The sun was sinking lower, casting a golden light on the group, making the soot look like friendly shadows. The sound of several trucks coming up the drive turned all the firefighters' heads. "Well, thanks for the help," Liz Abel said, grabbing her helmet and hopping to her feet, "there's our ride."

She was gone before either paramedic could say a word, heading for one of the trucks that had pulled up for chow and sleep. Julie Chrysler shook her head and smiled tiredly, "Don't mind her, she's…well I don't know what she is," she shrugged, then too headed over to Truck 15 with the rest of the crew.

"Well, that was-" Roy started, trying to find the right words.

"Wow?" Johnny supplied, watching the two firefighters from Truck 15.

Roy glanced over at is partner, not really surprised to see the look on his face, "It was kinda strange."

"Huh?" Johnny said, finally pulling his gaze back to his partner.

"Didn't talking with them feel a little strange?" Roy shrugged, "It was an odd feeling."

John looked over at Roy, "Not because they were girls?"

"No, no, it wasn't that," he shook his head; "Like you they were really familiar, their mannerisms, just their general demeanor…Never mind. Forget I said anything. Let's clean up, we get off in a few and the guys should be back for chow any minute."

They moved to clean up their respective areas with the odd conversation hanging between them. '_Like they were really familiar, their mannerisms, just their general demeanor…'_ Roy's words echoed in Johnny's head as he packed up the oxygen.

The way she sat, the way she spoke... Roy was right. He replayed the conversation he had with Liz Abel in his mind, and looking back, she was oddly familiar. The grumble of a familiar engine pulled him back to the present. The arrival of the engine meant their shift was over and he could finally get something to eat. He pushed all thoughts of Engine 15's ladies as far out of his head as he could manage.

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**Well, how was that? Drop me a line and let me know!**

**~Striker **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Welcome back! I would like to send a special shout out to all my reviewers, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! Thanks for all the info and advice. I did take the plunge and find a lovely beta (my best one yet) and so hopefully there won't be ANY errors in this chapter! Hahahaha, jk, there probably will be, so know they are mine. Ready for chapter 2?**

***As a side note, I reposted a betaed chapter 1 with a full summary of the story (you might want to check that out)!**

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**Chapter 2:**

Engine 51 sat as close to the chow building as Mike could manage, with all of Station 51 sprawled out on a slightly grassy bank next to the parking lot. Captain Stanley sat hunched over a sandwich in the passenger seat of Big Red with his long legs hanging out of the open door. Mike sat down on the steps below him, head hanging tiredly and nursing his third bottle of water. Chet lay sprawled out in the meager grass, snoring beside the remains of his dinner. Marco sat to his Chet's left, gazing tiredly off into space. The paramedics sat to Kelly's right, heartily digging into their chow.

Nobody bothered looking up when another engine pulled in beside 51; Mike didn't even check to make sure that they were far enough away from _his _engine. No one might have even noticed the truck if a voice hadn't called out, "Hey, should you two be saving some poor fireman from smoke inhalation?"

Johnny jerked up from his sandwich, absentmindedly wiping some mustard off his chin at the sound of the newly familiar voice. Roy, however, was the one who answered as Liz Abel, Julie Chrysler, and four other figures strolled towards 51, "Shouldn't you two be back out there getting strung up in some barbed wire?"

Abel grinned, previous offensives apparently forgotten, "Touché."

Chrysler took in the slightly ragged crew, "A tattered bunch you got here."

"Guys," Johnny reached over and whacked Chet to wake him up, "meet Liz Abel and Julie Chrysler, Kings County Engine 15."

"A pleasure to meet you," Marco said, instantly perking up, "Fireman Marco Lopez."

"Fireman Chester B. Kelly," Chet said, looking very much awake as well, "but my friends call me Chet."

Abel made a face, "I hope I'm not included in that category."

There was a slight pause before Cap spoke up, "Well. I'm Captain Hank Stanley."

Both women nodded before glancing expectantly over at Mike who had remained quiet, "Stoker. Mike Stoker. Engineer."

There was another heartbeat of awkwardness before Chrysler motioned to the group behind her, "I guess it's our turn for introductions. Cap?"

A short, muscular prematurely-gray woman stepped forward and smiled warmly at the group, "Been a while, Hank," she turned to the rest of Station 51, "Captain Rita Meadow. Nice to meet you boys."

Next to her, a dark haired looker with big brown gave the group a crinkly-eyed smile, "Gabriella Giordano."

A lean Amazon of a woman with dirty blonde hair and tired gray eyes was jostled forward next, "Um, hi. Engineer Stephanie Austin."

Last, but not least, was the petite woman with white-blonde hair and bright blue eyes, "Gladys Riley," she winked at Chet, "_my_ friends call me Laddy."

Now that the introductions were made, everyone, even Johnny Gage, seemed at a loss for words. 15's engineer, Austin, muttered something about chow and disappeared, followed by her captain and 51's, "I could use a coffee. How's the north side looking?" Stanley asked Meadow as the duo walked back towards the chow line.

Johnny glanced over at the two Captains walking towards the chow line, "Wait a sec, they know each other?"

No one but Johnny seemed too disturbed by this. Marco and Chet were desperately flirting with Giordano, who wasn't really flirting back. The oddball Riley was staring at Chet in a way that was clearly unnerving the firefighter, who kept glancing back at her suspiciously.

"I'm going to go call home," Roy said to his partner as he stood up, stretching out the kink in his back, "see how Joanne and the kids are doing."

"OK," Johnny said distractedly, watching the interactions of Station 51 with Station 15. Roy rolled his eyes and headed into the building where chow was being cooked and the telephone was located.

Base Camp #2 had taken over a small community center to house the off-shift firefighters and cook the meals. It had four fair-sized rooms that were used for town meetings, retreats, and other things like that. Right now, it housed close to fifty firefighters at a time with another fifty sleeping in tents behind the building. Counting both the morning shift and the night shift, that was two hundred men, and to feed that many men and women, the kitchen was a hopping place.

There were just two phones in the building and Roy chose the one by the kitchen hoping there wasn't a line. There wasn't a line, but there was someone already using the phone. A tall, wiry woman with blondish hair spoke into the phone, and although he couldn't see her face, Roy could hear the smile in her voice, "Wow honey, that sounds like so much fun! I'm so glad you're having a good time with Grandma and Grandpa."

She paused and listened for a minute. "The beach? That sounds like so much fun! I'm jealous…"

There was another long pause and the woman shifted her weight and glanced behind her. Her eyes landed on Roy for just a second and he was surprised to see that he recognized the woman. It was 15's engineer, Austin.

"I know, baby, I miss you too. I'll be home as soon as I can. We talked about this, remember? If the fire doesn't get put out, it could burn people homes down and they'd have nowhere to go. That's not a fun thing, right? I have to go now honey, there's someone else waiting to use the phone. Be good for me and take care of your grandparents…Okay, I will. Love you!"

She sighed almost imperceptibly then turned to Roy, "Sorry about that didn't mean to hog the phone."

"It's fine," Roy replied, "How old?" he asked, referring to the child she'd been on the phone with.

Austin smiled, "He's six."

"That's a handful. My son's seven and my daughter just turned five," Roy grinned, "It's hard to be so far away, huh?"

Austin nodded, "Yeah, especially when he's so young. Thank God for my parents or I don't know what I'd do."

It was on the tip of his tongue to ask about the kid's father, but he swallowed his question as she turned to go, "Well, I'll let you make your phone call."

As she walked down the hall, he was suddenly feeling more homesick than he had in a long time. He picked up the phone and dialed home as fast as his fingers would let him.

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By the time Roy had returned from his phone call, the crews of 51 and 15 were in a lively discussion as everyone finished up their meals.

"You're crazy!" Johnny was declaring staring at the dark haired Giordano.

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly, "I'm tellin' you, the Yankees are going to be in the World Series next year."

"No way. They haven't made it anywhere near the World Series since '64," Johnny declared, "There's no way they could win it."

"I didn't say they were going to win it, I said they were going to be in it. It'll be the Reds."

"Why are we talking about next year?" Mike piped up, "This year's season isn't even half way over."

"She already knows whose gonna win this year," Able replied, "that's old news."

"Who?" Johnny demanded, eyeing Giordano suspiciously.

"Cincinnati Reds versus Boston Red Sox. Cincinnati comes out on top," Giordano rattled off.

"How'd you come to that conclusion?" Roy asked, sitting down next to Johnny.

"She's an insanely good at guessing," Chrysler replied, "She's gotten it right four out of five times in the last five years that I've known her."

" '71 was a rough year," Austin muttered.

Giordano frowned, "I do _not_ guess. I have a system. My _Nonno _taught me when I was nine. I've only been wrong four times since."

Marco looked impressed, while Johnny just looked skeptical, "I'll believe it when I see it."

Giordano grinned deviously, "Care to make a friendly wager?"

In the end, no money was exchanged, but the conversation had lightened the mood considerably. Everyone was nearly done eating when Chet spoke up, "Okay, so I have a question. This might come across as offensive..."

"But he's gonna ask anyway," Johnny chimed in, getting a laugh from everyone, even Abel.

Chet glared at him, "What do your husbands think about your job?"

His question was met with silence. Abel was the only one who looked offended, and Johnny couldn't wait to see what her answer would be.

"What does your wife think about your job?" she ground out. Under her breath, she muttered, "Men like you are the reason I'm single," along with something fairly rude.

Chrysler swooped in to keep the peace, "My fiancée is currently stationed at Fort Benning and basic training is keeping him a little too busy to care what my job is."

"Single," Laddy Riley shrugged.

Gabriella Giordano smiled deliciously, "I've got muscles like you wouldn't believe. The boys love it." Marco looked like he might have drooled a little…and he wasn't the only one.

The group tuned to Austin, who sat picking at a blister on her palm, "Me? Happily divorced. And my ex hasn't been sober long enough to be bothered with what I do for a living."

There was a pause before Riley piped up, "Cap's husband only cared about her job when she got promoted before he did."

"Who knew a man could be so green?" Rita Meadows boomed from behind the group, causing them all to jump like they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't have, "Jealousy is an ugly thing, ladies and gents."

Captain Stanley grinned, "All right guys, what do you say we call it a night? It's gonna be another long day tomorrow."

Captain Meadows nodded, "Sounds like a good idea. Ladies?"

Reluctantly, the two engine companies drifted to their designated vehicles, "Well, see you around?" Johnny called over to Abel, sounding a little hopeful.

"Maybe!" she replied as she clambered onto the back of engine.

Austin started the truck with a curt wave, and Engine 15 disappeared around the back of the building where the men- and women- sleeping out in the tents parked their rigs.

"That was weird," Chet muttered as he followed the rest of the crew into the community center.

"How so?" Captain Stanley asked.

Chet shrugged, "I don't know. It was just like…"

"Talking to yourself?" Mike supplied.

"_Yes," _ Chet declared, "like almost exactly!"

The group was making their way through the big bunk room towards their row of cots. Cap rolled his eyes at Chet as they reached their beds, "I think the heat's gotten to you."

"I mean, as much as I hate to agree with Chet," Johnny shrugged, "I actually sorta do."

Roy shook his head as he plopped down on his bunk and began to untie his shoes, "They seemed fine to me."

"I didn't say that there was anything wrong with them, I just said that talking with them was weird," Chet said.

"I know what it is," Marco said sagely from his bunk as someone shut the lights off from across the room.

"What?" Johnny and Chet demanded together.

"Doppelgängers."

"Doppel what-" Johnny started, sitting up in bed.

"Hey, keep it down will ya?" somebody shouted from across the room.

Johnny lowered his voice to a whisper, "Marco, what's a doppel-?"

"Go to sleep, John," Cap cut in, "you two can discuss this in the morning."

As tired as he was, Johnny's mind wouldn't let him fall asleep too quickly. _Doppelgängers. Doppelgängers. Doppelgängers. _The word whirled around his tired brain until it lulled him into a fitful sleep.

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**You like? YOU REVIEW. **

**Love, Striker **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I want to take a few minutes to acknowledge some of my reviewers that I haven't had a chance to thank:**

**(From Chapters 1 & 2)**

pen4lew**: thanks for being the first review (and for some great encouragement!)**

Jrsgril:** thanks for reviewing, glad you like the story (so far!)**

lynn from pa**: a map may be helpful! For now, I'm just making up addresses of the calls! thanks for the review! ;]**

fireman jake**: oopps...thanks for catching my error! It's been taken care of!**

Kelmin: **we've chatted :] (PS: Everyone should go check out Kelmin's story Unknown Type Rescue) **

Jojara**: you are too sweet, glad I'm not the only one learning! And my new beta is too a blessing, she's caught SO many errors!**

Shirley Jean:** thanks! **

gunbuster:** have you been reading over my shoulder?! The Phantom may make an appearance yet...**

DixieDavenport: **Oh boy, a_nother _real firefighter! I would say that Abel is still very much a firefighter...as we will see in future chapters! And wouldn't you just LOVE to know how Hank knows Rita Meadows? *evil laughter***

miss prissypants25:** thanks, doll!**

arwaltherallie:** I love reviewers!**

Rolodexthoughts:** my old friend I am a fan of the snark, but we've chatted as well, so thanks again!**

station15:** hey, I wrote about you! Tattoos, I hadn't thought about it, but it might make for an interesting back story...what kind of tattoo would you like to see? **

**I think I got everybody...a shout out to my beta of course...**

**Who's ready for the first rescue? And to meet the circus?! **

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**Chapter 3:**

The next morning dawned much too early, but not very brightly. A heavy cloud cover rolled in the night before just in front of the wind. The National Weather Service was calling for rain before noon, but the change in wind shifted the fire towards several neighborhoods outside of Los Angeles. If the rain didn't come soon, or worse, if it was a lightning storm, the firefighters would lose what little ground they'd fought so hard for with the strong possibility of the fire getting even closer to the metropolis of LA. Smoke could been seen in the northern part of the cities said reports from local news stations

Breakfast was a tense affair, with everyone stiffly shoveling their chow into their mouths. The mood was so heavy Johnny didn't even bother to interrogate Marco about the Doppelgänger_. _

The handy talkie on the table between Roy and John squawked loudly, "_Squad 51, are you available?"_

Roy grabbed the handy talkie as Johnny gulped the last of his coffee, "10-4. Squad 51, available."

"_Squad 51, child trapped, 121 Weston Avenue. One-Two-One Weston Avenue, cross street Swift. Time out 07:58"_

"10-4, Squad 51, KMG365," Roy replied, following Johnny out of the makeshift mess hall.

They jogged over to the squad and Roy started the engine as John reached for the map, "I think if we head back to the main road it's a left then a right."

"'Kay."

The ride was quite and a bit tense, calls involving kids were always that way, and it was a relief when 121 Weston came into view. It was a big house, bordering on a mansion, just five miles below the fire. The whole neighborhood was ritzy, most of the houses sold for one hundred thousand dollars, or more. Out front, woman in a dress that was probably more than a week's paycheck for the paramedics waited calmly for the squad to roll to a stop.

"Ma'am," Johnny said, touching the brim of his helmet, "we had a call that there was a child trapped at this address."

She sighed dramatically, pushing a lock of bleached and permed hair out of her eyes, "Yes, I'm the one who called. He's around back."

Grabbing their gear, the duo followed the woman around the side of her house as she gave a vague explanation as to what had happened, "I have been telling him all week that we might have to leave because of that bothersome fire," she waved dismissively at the ridge behind her, "and this morning we got the notice to evacuate. Of all of the weeks for my husband to be in New York on business! So, here I am, packing up our things, missing my bridge game _again, _and now my harebrained son has gotten his arm stuck under the pool shed!" she said, throwing her hands up at the injustice of it all.

The paramedics exchanged a look, but didn't make any comments. The pool shed in question was a small building painted to match the house at the back of the property behind the crystal clear pool.

The boy was around on the backside of the shed, out of sight of the house. He had dark hair, blue eyes, and looked to be about twelve. He was lying on his stomach with his right arm stretched out under the shed all the way to his shoulder. He didn't say anything as the paramedics approached, he just lay there looking humiliated as his mother prattled on, "Lord only knows what he was doing under there; he won't tell me. Thinks he knows everything these days."

Roy squatted down next to the boy, "What's your name, son?"

"Thomas J. Frobisher the Third," Mrs. Frobisher snapped, "Can't you just get him out of there and skip the pleasantries. I have things to do."

Johnny frowned, "Well, we can work on getting your son unstuck while you go do whatever you need to, Mrs. Frobisher."

Mrs. Frobisher looked delighted, "That's an excellent idea! I'll go finish packing. Thomas, you listen to what these nice firemen tell you to do." She turned around and, careful not to trip on her heels, walked back around the shed without waiting for an answer.

Thomas, for his part, sighed deeply, "Sorry 'bout her."

Johnny laughed as he crouched down next to the boy, looking to see how his arm was stuck, "Not a problem."

"So, do you wanna tell _us_ what were you doing with your arm under the shed?" Roy asked as he got down to look under the shed.

Thomas shrugged, or tried to, "I was trying to get something I put under there a while back out."

Johnny, ever nosy, rocked back on his heels, "What is it?"

"Does anything hurt?" Roy asked.

"It's a gift…for a friend," the boy answered John. He shook his head in answer to Roy's question.

"Can you tell where you're stuck?" Roy asked, gently pulling on Thomas' arm to see how stuck it was.

Thomas shifted around and yanked on his arm, "I think my hand is caught between the foundation and the bottom of the shed."

The paramedics worked for a few minutes before Johnny spoke, "Tom, are you holding on to something?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, that's why your hand is stuck. Let go of it and I bet you'll be able to get you hand out easy as you please."

Thomas looked stricken, "I can't! What if our house gets burned down? It'll get burned up to! Then I won't ever be able to give it to Lauren!"

The two paramedics exchanged another look, "Ah, it's for a girl," Roy said, nodding knowingly.

"So what is _it?" _Johnny asked, "The suspense is killing me."

Thomas looked away from the two paramedics and muttered something indecipherable.

"What was that?"

"It's a charm bracelet. With her initials and a flower on it. I've been doing odd jobs for Mrs. Farley, the widow down the street, for _three_ months to save up for it. Lauren's birthday's next week, I was going to give it to her then."

"Well, you can't leave that behind, can you?" Johnny said, "But I think I have an idea. Can you knock on the bottom of the shed?"

Thomas made a concentrating face, then nodded, smiling, "Yeah, I can!"

"Well, tell you what, you keep taping and I'll go see if I can hear where you are. Then you can leave the bracelet, pull your arm out, and then we'll rescue the bracelet too, okay?"

Thomas nodded enthusiastically, "Okay!"

"Be right back," Johnny said. He rounded the shed and disappeared inside. A few minutes later, the dark-haired paramedic's muffled voice could be heard through the wall of the shed, "Okay, Tom, I gotcha. Go ahead and pull your arm out."

Thomas grinned at Roy and started to pull his arm out. It didn't come out as well as it had gone in, but within a few moments his arm was safely at his side.

Roy gently examined Thomas' arm, "Looks like you might have a bruise up here on your shoulder tomorrow, and maybe one on your knuckles, but other than that, I think you'll be fine."

"Thanks! Can we go see if-"

"Did someone order a charm bracelet?" Johnny asked, coming around the shed holding onto a small box.

"That's it!" Thomas said, snatching the bracelet, "Thanks!" The boy quickly opened the little box and dug around the tissue paper to find the little trinket. He held it up so that the paramedics could see it. It was hardly an expensive bauble, but it had the promised 'L' for Lauren, a 'H' for her last name, and a tiny purple flower charm.

"That's real pretty," Johnny said, "I'll bet she'll like it."

"I hope so. Her folks aren't around much and I want to make sure she has a good birthday," Thomas explained as he and the paramedics walked out from behind the shed towards the pool.

"That's real thoughtful," Roy agreed.

Thomas just shrugged, blushing a bit, "Can we not tell my Mom what I was trying to get? She won't understand. She doesn't like Lauren."

The partners shrugged at each other, "I guess so," Roy agreed. "I don't see any harm in it."

"Thanks guys," Thomas said, pocketing the bracelet, and sticking out his hand to shake the men's hands, "I owe you."

"Just doin' our jobs," Johnny replied.

Before anyone could say anything else, Mrs. Frobisher's voice called out, "Thank heavens, you got him free! Is he all right?"

Roy nodded, "Yes, ma'am. Might be a little black and blue tomorrow-"

"Thank you so much for your help," She gushed, then turning to her son, she was all business, "Thomas, let's get the car packed."

She turned, effectively dismissing the paramedics. Thomas just rolled his eyes, waved, then trotted after his mother.

Johnny shook his head and opened his mouth, probably to make a comment about 'some people,' but the radio cut him off, "_Squad 51, are you available?"_

* * *

Across town, the Emergency Room at Rampart General Hospital was even more of a mad house than usual. First there was the man who had tried to cut his fingers off with his new table saw, followed by the woman with her hair stuck in her blender (which contained a particularly smelly 'health food' concoction). After that had been the six year old twins Alexis and Ainsley who had done their very best to glue one another to their pet kittens. That was a messy operation to be sure.

Nevertheless, the morning's insanity was nothing compared to what the afternoon held.

From her spot at the Nurse's Station, RN Dixie McCall was seriously considering begging for a transfer to _any _other part of the building. The circus had come to town, or more accurately, to Rampart Emergency's waiting room.

There were twelve of them, but if you counted the noise they made, it seemed like a lot more. Oh, and who could forget the two boa constrictors currently wrapped around the Strong Man in treatment room two? Dixie shuddered at the thought of the 'friendly' snakes. "They just love Hugo so much!" their handler had declared, "They just don't want to let go of him!"

The snakes were not the only medical issue the circus was having. The human cannonball's gout was acting up again and one of the trapeze artists was in labor upstairs. Plus, a freakishly tall clown had gotten his foot stepped on by an elephant and was awaiting x-ray in treatment four while two of the animal trainers who had gotten into a fight with a lion, and come out on the losing end, waited for their stiches. Along with that, the ringmaster, Boris, looked like he was close to a nervous breakdown.

"My circus," he kept repeating in his Eastern European accent, "It is falling apart! We are cursed; cursed I tell you!"

His talk of curses was upsetting the rest of the circus members and therefore the rest of the waiting room. She'd had three people ask her if there was anywhere else they could wait.

Swallowing the groan that threatened to escape, Dixie resolutely turned to her paperwork. If she didn't get some of it done, she'd be here until her next shift working on it. The waiting room noise had settled down to a dull roar for about fifteen minutes and just as Dix settled into her work, there was a cry and the smell of smoke filled her nostrils.

Dixie was on her feet so fast she upset her chair and dropped half of her paperwork on the floor. The noise level in the waiting room had increased dramatically, and almost instantly she could see why.

Madame Tajemnica, the fortune teller, had lit some sort of incense and was now laying ornate playing cards on the table in front of her, muttering all the while.

"This is the last straw," Dixie muttered to herself, "if they keep this up, they'll be waiting outside."

Hands on her hips, Dix stopped directly in front of the old woman, "Madame Tajemnica, you will have to put the incense out right this second-"

"Shh," the pretty contortionist said, "She is communicating with the Spirit World."

"I don't care if she's communicating with the president. The incense goes or-"

Suddenly, Madame Tajemnica froze, dropping her cards and nearly knocking her incense over with a limp hand. She yelled something that Dix didn't understand before her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped to the floor at Dixie's feet.

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**I love my reviewers...**

**Striker **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry I didn't update this weekend, life's been HECTIC (please note the all caps here) and I did a little change up in this chapter. Thanks to my reviewers...I think you guys will like this chapter... ;]**

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**Chapter 4:**

Kings Country Station 15's morning started out like most of the other stations at Base Camp #2…well almost.

First there was a screech followed by, "Riley?!"

The pale, blue-eyed firefighter grinned to herself as she pulled her boot laces tight, "Yes?"

Abel stormed across the tent where 15 had spent the night holding her boot by one shoe lace, "What. The. Hell. Did. You. Put. In. My. Boot?"

Laddy shrugged innocently, "There's something in your boot?"

Liz Abel dropped the offending piece of shoe leather, "Don't give me that. I know you put something in here, now _get it out!"_

"Chow's up," Rita Meadows' voice reached through the din to her crew, "Everybody ready?"

"Yep," Steph Austin replied.

"Yes, ma'am," Gabriella Giordano added, stretching as she stood up from her bunk

Julie Chrysler "Affirmative, Cap."

"I'm ready Cap," Riley said, standing, "but I don't think Liz is."

Liz looked beseechingly at her Captain, "She put something in my boot, Cap."

Cap looked between the boot and the two women, "Laddy, what's in the boot?"

"I don't have any idea wh-"

"Come off it, Riley. We all know that the 'Specter' thinks she's struck again. Well, I don't care at this point," Abel flung her boot at Laddy, "get what ever is in there _out!"_

Riley stepped to the side and watched as the boot tumbled harmlessly to the ground. Out of it fell a small gray mouse-ish looking thing, like a cat toy. "Well, look at that. Guess your cat left you a little surprise," Laddy Riley smirked.

"I don't have a cat."

Cap threw up her hands, "Alright you two, let's just move on, shall we? We're gonna miss chow if we don't leave now."

Abel sat back down on her bunk to pull her boot on while Chrysler waited and the rest of Station 15 trailed after their captain. "-I'm gonna catch her in the act one of these days. Stupid Specter. I'm sick and tired of these pranks!"

"You thought it was pretty funny when she glued Gabriella's shoes to the floor of her locker last week," Chrysler offered.

"That was different!" Abel snapped, standing up and grabbing her jacket.

"Because you weren't the victim of the Specter?"

Abel glanced around before lowering her voice, "You know how I feel about rodents."

"You're afraid of them."

"Shh!" Abel glanced at a couple of men heading over to chow. After determining that they weren't listening, she continued, "It's not like I don't have a good reason."

"It's _not_ a good reason, especially in this case. I hate to break it to you, but it was just a toy."

"It is a good reason!" Abel protested, completely circumventing the toy comment.

Chrysler rolled her blue eyes, "You moved into an old house with mice when you were seven. One ran across your foot. It scarred you for life."

"I could have been exposed to the Bubonic Plague! Rats-"

"It was a mouse," Chrysler patiently reminded her partner.

"-are carriers of the Plague. Something about fleas that bite rats. You know how many people have died from the Plague?"

Chrysler repressed the urge to sigh deeply, "Alright, alright! Let's go get chow before there isn't anything left."

* * *

A thick cloud cover covered the sun and the air was thick with humidity. There promised to be storms before the end of the morning. After chow, the night shift returned and climbed into bed as the day shift got their various assignments.

"-Engine 51, Kings County Station 15, Kings County Truck 123, Station 325, and Truck 8. You'll be up on East Canyon Road working the both sides of the canyon. We need to keep the fire from spreading over the ridge and down into the Weston neighborhood. Last nights crew reports about forty percent containment," the base commander consulted his notes before turning to another group, "Truck 45, Station 32-"

Station 15 worked their way over to the engine and Riley elbowed Abel in the ribs, "Hey, did you hear who we're working with?"

Abel frowned, the earlier offense of the cat toy not forgotten, "Um, yeah. I _was_ standing there."

"Station 51?"

"What of it?" Abel shrugged, tugging on her turnout coat.

"Those paramedics, the ones that we met yesterday?" Riley urged.

Abel clamored up into the back of the engine, hopping to shake off Riley. "Will you get to the point, please?" she sighed.

"Come on, didn't you think there was anything weird about them?"

"Weird?"

"Like _familiar _weird."

"That doesn't make any sense," Abel muttered, turning away so that her colleague couldn't see the lie on her face. She and Julie had been discussing the same thing just the night before…

_She'd had the question on the tip of her tongue since that afternoon, but she didn't have a chance to say anything to her partner until they stood at the end of line for the showers, waiting tiredly for the men's room to become the women's room. "What did you think about those paramedics?"_

_Julie glanced at her partner, "I thought they were nice enough…good at their jobs. Why? You aren't thinking of asking that Johnny out, are you? I thought you weren't dating firemen anymore after-"_

_Liz held up her hand, "No, no, no. I'm on a sabbatical from dating of all kinds. I meant _them_. Didn't it feel weird talking to them?"_

_Brushing her hair back from her face with her fingers, Julie shook her head, "I wasn't that focused on them. I was more curious about their job?"_

_"Their job?" Liz asked, momentarily distracted, "What about it?"_

_"It seems…fulfilling."_

_Liz looked confused, but moved back to the original topic, "So, you're sure there was nothing that reminded you of…yourself…or any of the other girls?"_

_Julie looked deep in thought for a second, "Nope."_

_She turned around and headed to the showers for her turn in the showers. "You're hopeless," Liz muttered to the closing door, "There was definitely something about those paramedics…and the rest of their crew, too."_

The ride to East Canyon Road was quiet. Everyone was tired and getting into the zone for another long, hot day of work. The engine stopped at the end of the road and Abel was the first one out as usual, feeling unusually energized. She grabbed an armful of hose along with Gabriella Giordano while Austin took the engine a little farther up the road.

Station 15 set up at the far end of the road next to their fellow Kings County station, Truck 123. "Hey, beautiful!" Rich Cutler, fireman with Truck 123, waved at Liz Abel with one hand on his hose.

"Hey, ugly!" Abel waved back happily.

Morgan Dawson, the captain from 123 grinned at Abel's comeback and slapped his comrade on the back, "OK, Mr. Lady's Man, get back to work. This fire ain't gonna put itself out."

"That's what I was hoping for," Abel called, "What I wouldn't give for some rain."

"Amen to that!" Rita Meadow's booming voice echoed from behind Abel, "How's it lookin' this morning Dawson?"

"The same," came the reply.

Engine 51 rolled slowly past the two Kings County trucks with just the engineer Stoker aboard. Hank Stanley's long strides carried him over to where the other two captains were discussing the progress of the fire.

Abel turned back to her hose, but couldn't help but hope that she'd get to see the paramedics today along with the engine crew. She had a theory to prove.

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**Review me!**

**Striker ;]**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy early update Friday! Thanks for being so understanding about the slight delay...hopefully you'll keep being understanding because the next few weeks promise to be SUPER busy. Love and cookies to my reviewers!**

**Ready to head back to the guys and see what they're up to?**

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**Chapter 5:**

_"Squad 51, woman unconscious, probable drug overdose, 949 Perry Avenue. Nine-four-nine Perry Avenue, cross street Hamilton. Time out, 08:32."_

The tiny house on Perry wasn't exactly what might be described as a friendly place. Like the Frobisher's mansion, it stood dangerously close to the fire zone. There were only a few other houses in sight, but they looked totally deserted and the paramedics weren't sure that this wasn't a permanent state.

Gear in hand, the partners waded through the dry, weedy front yard and Johnny pounded on the door, which was in need of a good paint job. No one answered, but the door swung open to reveal a small, dusty foyer.

"Fire Department, anyone home?" Roy called out.

They listened for a moment before a soft groan pulled them inside. "Sounds like someone's in here," Johnny said, leading the way down the narrow hallway to a diminutive back bedroom.

A skinny girl with pale blonde hair lay stretched out on the bare bed in the middle of the room, clad in just a night gown. She moaned softly as the two paramedics entered the room. "Dom?" she rasped.

"Miss," Roy said gently, "we're paramedics with the Los Angeles Fire Department."

She tried to sit up, but collapsed back onto the bed, "Wha- where's Dom? I don't feel so good."

"Why don't you lie down so my partner and I can see if there's something we can do to make you feel better?" Roy said, pulling out the BP cuff while John set up the bio-phone.

"I want Dom! He…he said he was comin' right back," the girl mumbled groggily, "Where am I?"

Johnny turned to the bio-phone after checking the girl's respiration and pulse. "_Rampart, this is Squad 51, how do you read?"_

While John waited for an answer, Roy talked softly to their patient and took her BP. "Can you tell me what your name is?"

She opened her eyes a bit wider; looking at Roy like this was a stupid question. "Joy. Joy Caletti. Where's Dom?"

"Do you know what kind of drugs you took, Joy?"

"I want Dom."

"Was it a prescription?" Both of her arms were unmarked as well as her feet. "Did you take pills?"

Joy's eyes slowly drifted closed until the paramedic gently touched her arm and repeated his question. She thought for a minute before she answered, "Yes."

"What did they look like?"

"Pretty. But I don't feel so pretty now," her frail body relaxed into the bed, and Roy started to recheck her vitals.

Across the room, Johnny was talking quietly with Rampart._ "This is Rampart, unit calling please repeat," _Dr. Morton's voice came over the bio phone.

"Rampart, this is Squad 51, we have a woman, approximately 22 years of age, suffering from an apparent drug overdose. She was semi-conscious on our arrival but is now unconscious. Pulse is forty-eight Her respirations are eight and labored, standby for BP."

John glanced over at his partner. "Eighty over sixty," Roy said grimly.

"BP is eighty over sixty, Rampart," Johnny relayed.

_"Do you have any idea what kind of drugs she took, 51? And how much?" _

Johnny glanced at Roy who shook his head. While Johnny had been talking with Rampart, Roy had done a thorough search of the room, finding nothing aside from a pile of discarded various pieces of clothing and a pair of women's high heels.

"That's a negative, Rampart."

There was a pause on the line before Morton spoke again. "_Alright 51, start her on oxygen and an IV with normal saline. Recheck her vitals, too. "_

"Oxygen and IV with normal saline, 10-4 Rampart."

Johnny set up the IV while Roy checked the vitals, which remained the same. As they finished up their retrospective jobs, the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard coming up the road.

"Vitals unchanged, Rampart, ambulance has just arrived and we are bringing her in. ETA," John glanced at his watch, "twenty minutes."

_"10-4, 51."_

"I'll go with her," Roy said, taking the bio-phone and drug box from Johnny. His partner nodded and they walked out with the stretcher. John helped get the oxygen and IV set up in the ambulance before slamming the doors. The girl looked so pale he could hardly tell her skin from the pillow beneath her head. He watched the vehicle drive down the road before heading back to the squad. He tried to be optimistic, but the sinking feeling in his gut told him all he needed to know about her chances.

* * *

In treatment six, Madame Tajemnica, lay as still as death, a gauzy black spot in the bright white room. The nurse was feeling ill at ease as she took vitals – which were perfectly normal. Madame Tajemnica's eyes were wide-open, dark, unseeing orbs that set her teeth on edge. When the door of the exam room opened, she came very near to jumping.

"What do we have?" Dr. Early asked, glancing at the nurse before turning back to Dixie who had summoned him.

"She's part of the circus entourage in the waiting room. She was burning incense and when I went to tell her to cut it out, she just dropped at my feet."

"Do we know any of her medical history?" Dr. Early asked, checking both of the Madame's open eyes.

"Nothing that would be helpful," Dixie muttered, refusing to share the contortionist's theory that 'The Spirits' had something to do with the fortuneteller's illness.

"Hmm," the doctor said noncommittally, touching Madame Tajemnica's slightly clammy skin. "What are her vitals?"

Before he could get an answer, Madame Tajemnica's eyes drifted shut for a second before she shot up like someone had pinched her, "I must go."

"Ma'am, please, you need to lie down. You are very sick-"

"Bah! I am fine." she pushed Doctor Early away from her and sat up. "It is not me that needs help. There is another."

"But-"

"No. She is here now and she will need my place," the old fortuneteller declared, pushing the nurse out of the way with surprising force.

Spryly getting up, the fortuneteller brushed away the doctor's protests. She opened up the door just as Roy walked past with his patient Joy, Dr. Bracket, and two nurses. "Poor little _koteczek_," Madame Tajemnica _tsk_ed.

Dr. Brackett looked up, "Joe, we're running short on space, is there anyway-?"

"Yes, yes. I am well," Madame Tajemnica said, pushing the door open for the stretcher, "Come, come."

Brackett shot a confused look at Dr. Early, who just shrugged in reply. The dark haired doctor brushed past the fortuneteller, already focusing on his patient and shouting out orders. He didn't pay much attention to the oddly-attired woman, but hours later he would look back and remember her words.

"Oh, so young. Such a tragedy."

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**Badabing. Look for an update near you at a date TBA. **

**Reviews make me want to write faster.**

**S**


	6. Chapter 6

**I have no excuses beyond the fact that school is hard and I'm flying solo on this story again...hopefully, I'll have some time to work on this during the weekend. THANKS FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT!**

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**Chapter 6:**

"She's gone."

Brackett pulled the sheet of the too-young face and sighed. Somewhere between the paramedics and the ambulance attendants bring the girl in, she'd gone into respiratory arrest and her heart had stopped, maybe as a result of that or the drugs. He suspected that the autopsy would show that she had some sort of heart defect. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something slightly off. He made a mental note to talk to the paramedics later. Morton had taken the call to begin with, but had been pulled away by a nasty gunshot wound.

Walking out of the room, he was chagrined to see that there was a police officer standing by the nurse's station, presumably waiting to see him. He would answer the same questions with the same answers: they had done everything in their power to save her, but in the end she was another fatal OD.

"Hey, Doc," John Gage pushed away from the wall outside of the exam room. Funny how he hadn't noticed him.

"How is she?" Roy asked.

The look on his face must have said enough because both their faces fell. "There wasn't anything you could have done." The words sounded hollow in his own ears.

* * *

"Man, that sucks," John Gage muttered, slamming the squad door harder than he needed to, "What kind of guy gives a girl enough drugs to OD on, then just leaves her to die?"

"Squad 51, available. Returning to Base Camp 2," Roy said into the radio before starting the squad.

"_10-4, Squad 51."_

"She was barely old enough to drink," Johnny continued darkly, "and now she's dead 'cause her boyfriend or her dealer or whoever couldn't be bothered to hang around long enough to make sure she'd be okay. Or tell us what she might have taken. We might have been able to save her."

"I know."

"It sucks bad enough when the ones you can't save die. Like that guy who got crushed by the load of steel I-beam, there was nothing anyone could do for him. But she might have had a chance," he made a frustrated noise, "if the Docs had known more about her they-"

"I know, Johnny. I know. She shouldn't have had to die that way, surrounded by strangers in a hospital room. Let's just drop it, okay?"

The radio cut in, really putting an end to "_Squad 51, woman in labor, 23 Loveville Road. Twenty-three Loveville, cross street Keith. Time out, 10:46."_

"Squad 51, 10-4," John said, reaching for his helmet. Lose a girl to drugs, then head across town to deliver a baby. All in a day's work.

* * *

The squad roared up to 23 Loveville Road, a quaint little cottage with toys scattered in the yard. The paramedics hauled their gear up to the front door but before either of them could knock, the door flew open to reveal a frazzled looking girl of about sixteen, "Oh. My. God. Finally decided to show up, huh? Well, you're too late!"

"Miss-"

"She already freaking had the kid! I just helped deliver a baby. Oh. My. God. I am _never _having children, like _ever_."

"Miss, where is-"

"I was just babysitting the other kids, and she goes into labor. The car's with her husband, who incidentally is nowhere near any sort of phone, and she's just- like, bam! Baby number five. I think I'm going to throw up," The girl pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Miss, where-?"

"Oh, back bedroom. Here, I'll show you."

She spun around and trudged down the tight hallway, which came across as cozy rather than claustrophobic.

"Maggie, can we come out?" a plaintive voice called out from behind a door as they passed.

"No, Eddie, not yet. Keep an eye on your brothers."

"Is Mommy okay?"

Maggie shrugged at the door, "There are some nice firemen here to help her. I just need you four to stay in your room and be good, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer, Maggie led the two paramedics to the sunny back bedroom. A pretty, tired woman who looked a little over thirty smiled, "You missed the show," she smiled, revealing laugh-lines.

"So we hear," Roy said, setting his gear down.

"I need to use the restroom," Maggie said from the doorway before fleeing the way they had gone.

Johnny motioned at the babysitter, "Made quite an impression on her, huh?"

The woman laughed, "I did. Poor thing, I hope she's okay."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Roy said, peeking over at the baby, who glowed healthily, "How are you doing Mrs…?"

"Irene Alden. I'm doing fairly well, a bit worn-out. But isn't she gorgeous?" Mrs. Alden held out her baby, "Finally, a little girl."

"She's beautiful," Roy agreed, "Since we're here, mind if I take a look at her?"

"Go right ahead," Mrs. Alden smiled once more at her baby before handing the bundle to Roy.

"So, this is your fifth?" Johnny said digging around the drug box for he PB cuff.

Mrs. Alden laughed, "Yes. I'm an old hat at this by now. Nursed right off the bat, and this was by far the easiest birth of the five."

"When were you due?"

"Day after tomorrow. She's just a bit early."

"Have you done a home birth before?" Roy asked, glancing around the room. Everything was very orderly and the baby's umbilical cord had been expertly taken care of.

Mrs. Alden smiled again, which seemed to be normal for her, "You could say that. I'm a CNM. A midwife."

Johnny looked impressed, "Well, that's handy, huh?"

"Yes, it has its moments. I hate to be a bother, but can one of you go check on Maggie? She's probably hyperventilating in the bathroom. And send the boys in?" She smiled beseechingly at Johnny.

"I can do that," the dark haired paramedic said standing up, "I'll go see if the ambulance is here yet, too," he said to Roy.

John left and Roy handed the baby back to her mother, "She's looking good, Mrs. Alden, but we'll take the two of you to the hospital just in case."

"Just call me Irene. Mrs. Alden is my mother-in-law," Irene frowned briefly, "who is going to have a cow when she finds out about this. She's not very fond of me as it is. Somehow, it will be my fault that I didn't have the car."

"But your husband, her son, has it," Roy pointed out.

"True, but her baby can do no wrong," she shrugged, "not that I really care at this point. I've got a beautiful little girl, don't I sweetie?" Irene cooed at the baby.

There was a commotion from the doorway as four boys, ages ranging from about ten to about four , tried to push one another out of the way, "Mom!"

"Where's the baby?"

"What is _that?_" The youngest reached the bed first and pointed at the red-faced infant who was fast asleep, "It's all red and ugly!"

"You were uglier than that, Jamie," the tallest of the bunch informed him.

"He looks like an alien," another brother decided.

"_She_," Irene said, "is your new sister and you all looked just like this when you were born."

"It's a girl? I hate girls!" the boy who hadn't spoken yet declared.

"Joshua! You don't hate me."

"But she's-"

"Enough!" Irene held up her free hand. "Edward, Luke, Joshua, and James, I expect that you will _all _take good care of you sister. She's so much younger than you, we all need to protect her and help her grow up. You will not call her an alien and you will not say that she is ugly, you will just love her as she is," she surveyed her brood, "So, who wants to hold her first?"

The cries of, "Me, me!" could be heard all the way down the hallway where Johnny sat with Maggie, who had stopped hyperventilating and was now recounting how she had had to cut the umbilical cord.

"Well, you did a real fine job," Johnny said at the end of her story, "helping with the birth, calling the paramedics, you did everything that you should have."

Maggie perked up, "Really? I was freaking out the whole time."

Johnny shrugged, "I was the same way when I delivered my first baby."

From outside, the sound of sirens could be heard. Johnny stood up from his seat on the edge of the bathtub and held out a hand for Maggie, "Well, sounds like the ambulance is here. Time to take the baby and Mrs. Alden to the hospital."

They made it back to the bedroom just as Roy and the ambulance attendants finished helping Mrs. Alden onto the stretcher and extricating the baby from one of the brother's arms, "What are we gonna name her?" he demanded.

"How 'bout Flower?" the youngest boy suggested, "or Candy? Candy is yummy."

His mother laughed, "We'll have to think about that. I need you boys to wait here with Maggie for Dad, okay?"

"His office said they'd get the message to him," Maggie said as she and the boys followed the stretcher to the ambulance, "the boys can come stay with my mom and me tonight if need be."

"You are such a dear," Irene said to Maggie, blowing her boys kisses, "I'll have Matt call later and set something up."

Roy followed the stretcher into the ambulance, "Meet us at the hospital?" he said to Johnny.

"Sure thing," John nodding. He slammed the ambulance doors and waved to the driver.

He turned back to the squad, smiling at the foursome of serious boys. "Thanks Mister," the tall one said, "even though Maggie did all the work."

John laughed, "She did a good job of it, too. Congrats on the new sister."

He hopped into the squad, started it, and followed the ambulance towards Rampart.

* * *

The ambulance ride was quiet with mother and child both content. "I can't get over it; a girl. Finally," Irene commented, touching her baby's cheek, "Do you have kids?"

"Two," Roy nodded, "a boy and a girl."

"That's sweet, one of each." Irene glanced down at the baby, "Now I need a name for you. I didn't even bother to pick out any girl names."

They were silent for a few minutes, the baby soundly asleep and the mother contemplative, "My little bundle of joy..…ha, Joy! What do you think of the name Joy?"

Roy had thought a lot about the name Joy in the last few hours. He looked between the happy loving mother and the little baby and thought about the poor girl in the lonely house. He decided that Joy was too pretty of a name to be tied to the memory of a life wasted.

"It's perfect."

"I think so, too. My little bundle of Joy," Irene cooed.

* * *

"Everything looks good," Doctor Early announced a little under an hour later, "You two can go home tonight if you'd like."

Before Irene could answer, the treatment room door swung open to reveal a handsome man in a rumpled suit, "Irene! I'm so sorry, I missed it! Are you okay? Is the baby okay? What happened? My secretary said that the babysitter sounded frantic-" he stopped when he saw the pink blanket. "It's a girl?"

Irene Alden nodded, "Yep. Meet your daughter, Joy Isabelle. Born at 10:30 this morning."

"It's a _girl?_" Tim Alden said again, looking a little shell shocked, "Really?"

* * *

Mr. Alden caught the paramedics just as they were about to head back to Base Camp #2. "Wait, wait! Are you the paramedics that brought my wife here?"

The two glanced at one another, "Mr. Alden?" Roy guessed.

"Yeah. I just wanted to thank you. It's a girl, can you believe it?"

"A very pretty little girl," Johnny agreed, "congratulations."

"It's really a girl," Mr. Alden shook his head, "who would have thought-"

"_Squad 51, are you available?" _

"I'll let you go," Alden said, "Thanks again, it's a girl!"

"Squad 51, available," Roy acknowledged, smiling at the retreating back of the new dad.

"_Squad 51, firemen injured. Meet Copter 12 at Rampart General. Copter ETA, six minutes."_

"10-4. Squad 51, KMG-365."

* * *

**Review? I don't deserve them, but...**

**Striker **


	7. Chapter 7

**Super quick update! Thanks to** station15** and** Rolodexthoughts** for reviewing! You guys are so awesome and I love you so much I wrote this evil cliffy...**

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

Almost exactly six minutes later, Copter 12 lowered itself onto the landing pad at Rampart. The sky was getting progressively darker and the air heavier. The two paramedics, both laden with almost all of their gear, trotted under the spinning blades and started piling stuff into the back of the helicopter.

Johnny climbed in just behind Roy and slammed the door hard as the aircraft lifted up towards the darkening sky. Keith Crouse, a veteran flier, was alone at the controls. "How's it goin'?" Crouse called over the roar of the engine.

"Been busy!" John replied.

Crouse laughed hardily, "I'll bet! I've been back and forth for water so many times I feel like a yoyo!"

"Do you know anything about our rescue?" Roy asked when the pleasantries were through.

Crouse shrugged his broad shoulders, "Not much more than what dispatch told you. Seems that there was some sort of landslide out East Canyon Road. A couple a guys went over the embankment."

Roy and John exchanged a look. They had been out on their first call and missed the day's assignments, but both were sure that they'd heard that 51 was out on East Canyon.

"How much longer?" Roy said, looking between his watch and the sky.

"About four minutes," came the reply.

John craned his neck around his partner to look out the wide windshield of the helicopter, "It's looking like rain, huh?"

"Yeah, Weather Service says to expect thunderstorms this afternoon. It's only gonna get worse before it gets better."

"Just what we need, lightning to start up more fires," Johnny grumbled.

Crouse nodded, "You can say that again," he glanced down at the instrument control panel, "looks like we're almost there."

John and Roy moved over to the window, looking down to East Canyon Road. They could see three different fire trucks parked along the road as well as a tractor. The smoke was blowing in and obscuring almost everything else.

"I don't have enough visibility to land," Crouse said over his shoulder, "I'm gonna have to drop you and your gear up on the road by the trucks. It's the best I can do."

Roy checked to make sure everything was securely packed into the stokes while Johnny got the repelling gear ready before pulling open the side door. The stokes went down first, followed closely by Johnny.

Roy turned back to Keith Crouse, who had to shout over the increased volume of the wind and the engine, "The weather's lookin' worse. I'm gonna try to find somewhere to land for the time being. Just radio in and I'll do my best to get back to you!"

Outside, the sky was now an alarming shade of storm gray. Roy acknowledged Crouse with a curt nod before following his partner and the stokes all the way to the ground. By the time he got there, Johnny had tracked down their Captain and another firefighter Roy didn't recognize from behind.

The three were in deep conversation as Roy jogged over to join his partner who was listening to Captain Stanley, "-can't see a thing for all the smoke and haven't gotten any sort of response from either of them."

"What's going on?" Roy asked. On closer inspection, the second person was Rita Meadows, whose serious face was streaked with soot.

It was Johnny who answered, "Part of the hillside went over the cliff and took a couple guys with it 'bout twenty minutes ago. Haven't heard anything from then since."

"Two of ours," Captain Meadows piped up, "Liz Abel and Rich Cutler from Kings 123."

The mention of a familiar name made the situation so much worse, even if Abel wasn't part of Station 51. John and Roy were in motion, grabbing as much gear as they could carry with the two Captains grabbing the rest of it.

A few dozen yards in front of the trucks, the road simply disappeared at a sharp cliff. The men, and women, from trucks 15, 51, and 123 stood way back away from the edge, hoses at their feet.

"How 'bout everyone just moves back towards the trucks," Roy yelled to the group, "I don't like the idea of all that weight being anywhere near the edge." Just to reinforce his point, a chunk of earth slid out of sight just as a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

The group moved back towards the trucks at a quick pace with a dusty Julie Chrysler leading the pack, "Liz's down there," she said, stopping in front of the two paramedics, "I'll go down and-"

"You will not," Rita Meadow cut in, frowning. She pointed at Chrysler's dust-gray gear and the blood seeping out of the wrapped cut on her palm, "You almost went over with them as it is. You're gonna wait right here and let DeSoto and Gage go get Liz. The less weight going up and down the hill the better."

"But-"

Captain Meadows face shut Chrysler up fast. Julie nodded before moving next to the remaining members of her crew. Captain Stanley glanced around the group and cleared his throat; "There's an old fire road at the bottom of the canyon. Maybe we should send a truck down there and see if there's any way to get to them from that angle."

Captain Brian Sandors of Truck 123, a short, reticent man with more years of experience than both of the other Captains combined, stepped forward, "We'll head down there. Boys?" The men of 123 glanced over the cliff to where they knew their comrade lay but they followed their Captain to the truck anyway. Once they were gone, John turned back to Cap, "I think I should go down first, just to see what things look like. Then Roy can bring the down the gear with him."

Roy didn't like the idea of sending his partner down to the two firefighters when no one had a clear idea as to what things looked like down there, and he could tell that Cap didn't like it either. There was a rumble of thunder followed by a crack of lightning. "Last thing we want to do is get caught up in a slide, Cap," John continued, "it's gonna be bad enough as it is."

"We'll anchor you on the engine," Stanley agreed. The lanky Captain turned to tell Stoker to go and get the truck but Mike was already climbing into the driver's seat. Johnny checked his harness while Mike pulled the truck just a few dozen feet, careful considering the dangers of getting too close.

Once Johnny glanced over his harness one final time, he signaled to Roy and Chet who were manning his rope and cautiously approached the edge. There hadn't been any amount of significant rain in the area in months, and the road was powdery and dry. All the water from the firefighter's hoses had turned the land below the road into a mess. It had basically undermined the spot where the firefighters had been standing, and from the looks of it, things hadn't been overly stable beforehand.

Stepping over the edge sent a puff of dust and a rock tumbling over the edge. Slowly working his way down, Johnny called out, "Abel? Cutler?"

There was no answer, and Johnny grimly moved down the hill as fast as he dared.

After what seemed like ages, the paramedic managed to maneuver his way to the bottom of the hill. It seemed strangely silent down here, well below the rush of the water from the fire hoses and the road noise. Even the wind seemed quieter down here, just gently brushing past his face and drying the sweat there.

It was too quite down here, much too quiet. The calm before the storm. He tugged twice on his rope, signaling for more slack, before carefully moving deeper into the scene.

The dirt was dry and tiny dust particles still floated in the air, even half an hour after the slide. The hill had been pretty barren; most the debris consisted of dirt, a few scraggly bushes, and more dirt. A crack of thunder followed closely by the first drops of rain pushed John into action. Scanning the ground, a piece of black plastic caught his attention and he leapt towards it.

The helmet he dug out of the dirt read 123 KINGS COUNTY and Johnny swallowed the sick feeling and yelled up to his partner, "Gonna need a shovel and some help down here!"

Dropping to his knees, John began pulling the dirt back with his hands. He found a boot first, followed closely by the rest of Rich Cutler. The rain was really starting to fall by the time Johnny pulled the unconscious fireman from the dirt. Almost immediately, he began sputtering and coughing up mud and cursing a blue streak, "What the hell?!"

"Are you okay?" John said, still digging through the dirt.

"I feel like someone just beat me up side the head with a two-by-four," he cringed when he tried to stand, " and I think I sprained my ankle."

"Did you see what happened to Abel?" John asked.

"She was right next to me before-" Cutler looked at the huge slide of dirt as Roy, Chet, and Julie Chrysler reached the bottom of the hill, laden with shovels and medical gear. "Is she still in there?"

"That's the problem," John said, grabbing a shovel from Chrysler, "we don't know where she-"

_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!_

The crack of thunder was so loud that the ground seemed to tremble below the four firefighter's feet. Cutler cursed again as a huge chunk of the road slid down the hill. The rain falling was so heavily that it was nearly impossible to see much of anything.

"We've got to find her," Chrysler yelled above the roar of the rain, "all this water is going to bring the whole hillside down on us!"

She tucked into the dirt, which was quickly turning into mud, and shoveling with maniac strength. Johnny was right beside her and Roy turned to talk to Cutler, "Are you okay?" he asked, repeating his partner's earlier question.

With a grimace, he nodded, pulling himself to his feet, "Yeah, I'm fine. We need to find-"

There was a thunderous roar from above the firefighters, cutting whatever Cutler had to say off. All heads turned towards the top of the hill, just as the first boulder bounced down the hill, right for the firefighters.

* * *

**I am really a terrible person, aren't I?**

**~S**


	8. Chapter 8

**Special Thanks to** teachermomkmg365, **another reviewer from last chapter! I didn't see your review until after I posted the next chapter! Also thanks to **gunbuster **and** Debbie** (I wasn't trying to guilt anyone into reviewing, I just felt bad for mot updating for so long! ;}). ** DixieDavenport**, I loved your review AND your 'Typical Day' PM, it made me laugh! **

**We're in the final stretch here guys, just this chapter and a prologue. Which really screws with my OCD because now I don't have a nice even number of chapters...**

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

Time seemed to freeze, but Roy was the first to snap out of his trance, "Out of the way!" he yelled, tackling Cutler, effectively pushing both of them out of the way. Johnny and Chrysler had taken cover in the hole Johnny had pulled Cutler out of.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until the rockslide stopped and everything seemed to be clear. "We have to find her, now!" Chrysler looked frantic, "We're all gonna get buried alive down here!"

Cutler fell to his knees and started scooping mud out of the way. Roy and John each had a shovel, digging with superhuman speed. The rain was falling faster and faster and the sky was so dark it felt like midnight rather than mid afternoon.

Chrysler was a few feet above the guys but they heard her shout clearly, "I found her! Up here!"

Leaving Cutler to pull himself up after them, the two paramedics crawled up the mud to where Chrysler's shovel was feverishly flinging mud. Abel's unnaturally pale face was streaked with blood and dirt, her head resting at an unnatural angel. "We need to get her out of here," Roy muttered. Turning around, he shouted down to Cutler, who stood further down the hill. "Can you grab a C-Collar from the from the box and toss it up here?"

Cutler acknowledged with a wave of his hand, limping over to gear. The trio worked quickly, so by the time the C-Collar bounced in the mud beside them, Abel was exposed almost to her knees. Roy, who had been supporting her head, gently wrapped the collar around Abel's neck as another hunk of dirt and mud rolled past.

"We need to get out of here," Chrysler repeated, glancing up at sky. A streak of lightning lit up the world, and for a moment, the top of the hill was visible again. The rainwater was rolling over the embankment like a waterfall with no expectations that it would stop any time soon.

"I think we can pull her out," John said, tossing his shovel aside and stepping down into the hole around Abel. With Roy on her other side and Julie Chrysler digging at her feet, John carefully stood up, wrapping his arms around Abel and pulling her with him.

"Wait, wait, she's caught!" Chrysler was yanking on a piece of rock and Roy did his best to help her without letting Abel's head fall.

"Uggh, what-" Abel moaned and shifted, "What happened?"

"Don't move," Johnny replied, "we'll get you out."

"Out of where? And why are you so close to my face?" Abel asked, blinking. She started to reach up and wipe the mud out of her eyes, but cringed, "What the hell is wrong with my neck? And my hand?" She held up the mangled looking hand, which had a least two broken fingers.

"You got caught in a landslide," John explained, "just hold still, you're fine."

Before Abel said anything, there was another clap of thunder, which sent a sludgy stream of mud down the hill and onto Abel, Johnny, Roy, and Chrysler.

Abel spit out a mouthful of mud, "What-"

"Okay, she's free," Chrysler said, standing up, "let's go!"

Somehow, Johnny and Roy managed to gain enough of a foothold to pull Abel out of the mud and slide as carefully as possible down the hill. "There's no way we're getting back up the way we came!" Roy yelled, "I think we're going to have to try and get down to the fire road where 123 is!"

The foursome reached the bottom of the hill where Rich Cutler was balancing himself on a discarded shovel. "We going down?"

"Yeah, you think you can make it?"

Cutler shrugged, "Do I have any other choice?"

The five firefighters moved away from the direction they'd come and started to make their way down the rest of the hill. The didn't get very far before John's line stopped him, "I'm gonna have to cut this," he said, unable to unclip the safely belt, "There's not enough line to get us all the way to the bottom."

"Flying solo," Chrysler muttered, sawing through John's rope, then her own, with a heavy duty pocket knife. Roy had unclipped his line a while back and obviously, Cutler and Abel hadn't had lines to begin with.

Their progress was slow and painful, with Abel drifting in and out of consciousness and Cutler cursing as he limped down the hill on his bad ankle. Although she hadn't said anything about it, Chrysler's previously injured hand was dripping blood, and had been for a while. She and Johnny had their arms around Abel while Roy held onto Cutler the best he could.

They all lost their footing more than once in the ankle deep mud and blinding rain. The road was nowhere in sight and the only way Roy was sure they were heading in the right direction was the downhill slope.

Johnny cried out as he tipped, pitching forward and pulling Chrysler and Liz Abel with him. Chrysler dug her heels into the ground the best she could, grunting at the effort of staying upright until Roy and Cutler each grabbed onto one of the trio and the elder paramedic called out, "You doing okay?"

Once he was standing again, panting Johnny shrugged, futilely wiping the mud off his face with his dirty sleeve, "We've got to get to the bottom soon, right? I don't know how much farther I can go."

Abel moaned seemingly in agreement, her head resting against the C-Collar, eyes closed, hair a mass of blood and mud. The paramedics hadn't gotten a chance to really look her over after they'd dug her out of the landslide and they hadn't had enough hands to haul their gear down with them. Roy could only pray that she wasn't too seriously injured.

As they climbed, everyone became aware of a distant rumbling. "What's that?" Cutler yelled hesitantly, squinting over his shoulder.

"I don't think I want to know!" Chrysler shouted back, "Faster!"

The rumbling was growing louder and there was no denying what was right behind them. The landslide was going to catch them, a brown river of mud, rocks, trees, and Lord only knows what else. The group was racing now, cringing at the cries of Abel and the curses of Cutler.

"Look!" Roy shouted, "do you see that?"

Johnny pulled his head up, searching the horizon for- "Lights! It's lights from the truck!"

The last hundred feet of their dash was blur as the firefighters ran, shouting just feet in front of the landslide. They fell into the road, right in front of Truck 123, where they were pulled up onto the truck in one tangled, filthy mess. The truck roared up the road, just barely getting out of the way before a sea of mud covered the road where they had been idling moments before.

* * *

Rampart had been blessedly quiet since the circus had pulled out a few hours earlier after doctors announced that all of the members, suffering from their various illnesses, were free to go home.

They had gotten no call, but a siren outside the ER doors brought orderlies running, along with Dixie McCall. A fire truck, plastered with mud, pulled up, completely blocking both doors. As five mud-covered figures were unloaded, two more trucks could be heard pulling into the parking lot behind them.

"What's going on?" Dixie asked, glancing at the first victim, a young fireman she didn't recognize who was limping painfully.

Right behind him, Roy DeSoto and John Gage supported a woman firefighter while another one followed directly behind.

Dr. Brackett had poked his head out of his office at the first sirens, and now both he and Dr. Early arrived, "What's going on?"

John Gage answered, "We got caught in some mud."

"I can see that," Dixie muttered halfheartedly, glancing at the grime covering the floor.

Brackett looked closer at the limp firefighter between John and Roy, "Take her into Two."

"I'll take you in Five," Joe Early said, point at Rich Cutler who was leaning on an orderly, but limping profoundly.

Two orderlies with a gurney took over for John and Roy, effortlessly hefting Abel up onto the gurney and wheeling her towards room two. "Stay here," Brackett commanded, "I want to check you three out later."

With that he was gone, taking Abel with him. Early disappeared with Cutler, and all that was left was a roomful of muddy firemen.

Slightly out of breath, Rita Meadows reached the waiting room and immediately sought out the paramedics, "What happened? Is Abel okay? Are you guys okay?"

John and Roy exchanged a glance. In the truck on the way over, Abel had begun to slip into shock. A possible back injury that hadn't been properly taken care of right away, three broken fingers, a broken wrist, head trauma…things could go either way.

"She's being taken care of," Chrysler answered for them, "we did what we could."

Her answer had given enough of the story to satisfy the Cap. She frowned; looking worried, but didn't press the subject any further.

Hank Stanley came to stand with is paramedics, who were looking worn out and anxious, "You guys did good out there."

"We'll see," Johnny replied, "we'll see."

* * *

**What is it with me and cliffies lately? **

**~S**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, this it, THE FINAL CHAPTER! I must say that I am pretty proud of this story and how it turned out...and I hope you'll all like the end...I know I do. I decided to leave you hanging for a few more paragraphs...this chapter picks up three months AFTER the last chapter. It just worked out that way. ;]**

**Thanks to all of my readers and reviewers. Without you guys this story would have never flourished the way that it has!**

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

**_THREE MONTHS LATER:_**

Friday night had been pretty hectic, as usual, but the sunny Saturday morning had been pleasantly tranquil. All the men were quite, probably just tired, but it was a peaceful kind of quiet. Captain Stanley was in his office filling out paperwork, Mike Stoker was cleaning the last of the dirt off of Big Red, and Chet Kelly mopped the dorm while Marco Lopez worked on lunch. It was a little after noon, Marco called the crew to lunch, "Chow's up!"

The crew of Truck 51 shuffled towards the common room, and Marco's chili, just as the garage door rattled open to reveal the rear of the squad. The paramedics had been called out an hour earlier on a 'child having difficult breathing' call.

"How'd it go?" Chet asked as Roy put the squad in park and shutting off the engine.

"Fine," Roy said.

"Little girl's allergic to cats. Babysitter's a cat lover. You can imagine how that went," Johnny supplied, running his hand through his hair, "I'm starved. What's for lunch? Chili?"

"Again," Mike muttered.

Marco looked offended, "What's wrong with chili? It's my _mamá's _recipe and she's always told me that chili is a staple of any diet-"

"Umm, hello?" a female voice from the rec room, followed closely by the first whiff of something burning, "I think your chili is done."

Turning around, the firemen instantly followed their noses to the stove, momentarily bypassing the two women standing by the door. "Well, there goes lunch," Johnny said dejectedly as Mike grabbed two pot holders and pulled the burning chili off the stove and let Chet fill the pot up with water. Marco muttered something in Spanish and turned off the stove.

"This happen a lot around here?" The woman's voice attracted the firefighters attention. For a moment, they seemed unfamiliar, but the sarcastic edge of her tugged at John's memories.

"Abel! Chrysler!"

The two women were out of uniform, but looking totally at ease in Station 51. Julie Chrysler's brown hair looked longer, and dressed in a skirt and blouse, she looked more like a tall businesswoman than a firefighter. Liz Abel was even more of a transformation. A pair of sunglasses perched on the top of her new-penny red hair which was a lot longer than her ponytail had let on. She was dressed like she had just come in from the beach, a long bright blue patterned cover-up type dress and freshly sunburned shoulders.

"What are you guys doing here?" Roy asked, reaching out to shake Chrysler's hand.

"Saving you guys from the embarrassment of your station burning to the ground," Abel cut in, smiling genuinely but still sounding rather sarcastic.

Johnny rolled his eyes, "We were doin' just fine."

"I could tell," Abel said, one hand on her hip, the other fanning away the traces of smoke in the air.

"Well, the chili may not be edible," Marco announced to the women, saving John from getting himself into something that he might regret, "but there's plenty of salad and stuff to make sandwiches. If you don't mind waiting, you're welcome to stay for lunch."

They exchanged a glance, "I think we can manage that," Chrysler said. Abel nodded in agreement.

"Coffee?" Roy asked, motioning to the pot as he poured himself a cup.

Abel nodded, but Chrysler waved the coffee away, "Not for either of us. Coffee does strange things to her."

"What are you talking about?" Abel cast a glance at her partner.

"You've had your cup for the day. Any more than that you'll be wired for the next _three_ days."

Abel snorted, "That's _not_ true at all."

"Why can I picture it being true?" Johnny snorted.

"When did you join this conversation?" Abel shot back, eyes narrowed.

Roy cleared his throat as he and Johnny took a seat at the table, motioning for Abel and Chrysler to join them, "How's the wrist?"

Abel shrugged, holding her hand up. It looked a lot better than the last time the paramedics had seen it; all the broken fingers had set straight and aside from a small scar, the wrist looked almost normal. "Not half bad. Got the cast off three weeks ago and been doing some physical therapy to get it back up to snuff."

"No serious residual effects-?"

"Of our wild descent?" Abel shrugged again, "I had a stiff neck for a while, and a hell of a collection of bruises, but nothing I can't handle. Been working in administration for the department though," she rolled her eyes, "and I'm going stark raving mad. Three more weeks then I'm back on the engine."

"How's the guy from 123…Cutler?"

"Well, since it turned out that his ankle was fractured rather than just sprained, he was out for almost been two months. Working with Abel in administration...lucky for him he's back on the truck now," Chrysler supplied.

"Lucky's right. Another day and I would have made sure that his limp was permanent," Abel muttered.

There was a momentary lull in conversation as Roy sipped his coffee and Johnny did his best not to stare at either woman. "You never did say why you were in Los Angeles," John finally came up with, "it's a long way from your home."

"Well, we had some things to work out," Chrysler glanced at Abel, "and someone wanted to go to the beach."

"Forget your sunscreen?" Johnny cracked, smiling widely.

Abel was not smiling. But before she could hand Johnny his head, Chrysler continued, "We also wanted to come by here and tell you guys the news."

"News?" all heads turned towards the two women.

Chrysler was smiling broadly now, and so was Abel, after she shot one last poisonous look at Johnny. "We are officially enrolled in the paramedic program. Effective the first of the year, we transfer down here and start classes."

"That's great!" Roy said, his face mimicking Chrysler's. The rest of the crew made similar comments, and Johnny winked at Abel through the noise, "If you're gonna be a paramedic, you're going to have to work on your bedside manner-"

"I still have one good hand," Abel warned.

"I think you two will make great paramedics," Roy said loudly, saving his partner from getting his butt kicked.

"Well, working with you two during the fire really sparked our interest," Chrysler explained, "No pun intended."

"_Your_ interest," Abel interjected, "I just didn't want you to come down here and get eaten alive by all the sexist pigs-"

"Ignore her. She was just as excited about this as I was."

Abel made a face, "Well, I do like the idea of being Kings County's first women paramedics."

"If you pass the classes," Johnny replied, smiling.

Before Abel had a chance to reply, the peal of the siren summoning Station 51 to a factory fire cut her off. All eight firefighters leapt to their feet, "Guess we'll see you later," Roy called, pausing with his partner and the two women after the truck crew disappeared through the door.

"Hopefully soon," Julie Chrysler agreed. She hesitated for a second before reaching out and giving Roy a quick hug, "Thanks for the inspiration."

Roy smiled back, "Not a problem."

Johnny moved to follow his partner out of the door, waving at Chrysler, but an iron grip stopped him, "Wha-"

Abel reached up and panted a quick kiss on Johnny's tan cheek, "Thanks for everything. You're not as much of a pig as I expected...in fact, I actually kind of liked working with you. "

"Thanks," he grinned as Abel pushed him out the door, "See you around?"

"Maybe!"

It wasn't until he and Roy had dropped off their patients at Rampart and were picking up more supplies that Johnny reached into his pocket in search of a pen. The first thing he found was a slip of paper with a phone number on it and the initials _L.A. _signed in the bottom.

"What's that?" Roy asked, glancing at his partner's shocked face.

"_Doppelgänger_," Johnny whispered.

"What?"

"It's Liz Abel's phone number."

"Wow, she actually gave it to you?"

Johnny ignored the sarcasm, "I left _my_ number on top of her wallet…and I initialed it the same way."

"Why are you complaining that you got her number at all?" Roy asked, hefting the box of supplies.

"I'm not…it's just that we did almost the exact same thing-"

"_Squad 51, possible heart attack, 234 Hamilton Way, cross street Maiden. 2-3-4 Hamilton. Time out 15:44."_

Johnny started to complete his sentence, but Roy handed him the box of supplies, "Save it," He grabbed the handy talkie, "Squad 51, ten-four."

* * *

**The End...for now?**

**~S**


End file.
